Ten rejections more

The Roanoke Daily Herald serves as an example of how a fact can be exaggerated and twisted to be barely recognizable. The article talks about the publishing of Vitamins for the Soul by Dwight P. Berry:

Berry laughs when he points out it took Charlotte Bronté 17 tries to find a publisher for “Jane Eyre,” and then adds, “ I only had to go through five.

As far as we can remember The Professor was rejected seven times, including the final but encouraging rejection by Smith, Elder & Co that pushed Charlotte Brontë to finish and send them her manuscript of Jane Eyre that was accepted for publication almost on arrival.

The Book Reporter interviews author Jan Karon, who is passing through a Brontë phase:

BRC: You quote some wonderful poets and authors in your book, including Wendell Berry, Annie Dillard, G.K. Chesterton and --- one of my old favorites --- Elizabeth Goudge. What’s on your nightstand, reading-wise, right now?

JK: I’m reading PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Pulitzer winner Geraldine Brooks. She’s a former journalist and writes with a flair that I find compelling. This year I’ve read and savored the work of Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Elizabeth Spencer, John Steinbeck, and sailed through my third reading of GROWTH OF THE SOIL by Knut Hamsum --- a masterpiece. Also I just re-read JANE EYRE and am launching into WUTHERING HEIGHTS, which I find remarkably better written than JANE EYRE. Driving home today, I realized I was hungry for some C. S. Lewis --- nourishing.

Finally, The Contentious Centrist has a long and interesting post on the nature of women's beauty. Jane Eyre is quoted extensively.

Categories: Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights